314 Joel White plausible case can be made for a traditionsgeschichtliche link either to the OT prophetic tradition (40) or even to Jesus himself (41). c) Phil 3,20 A third text that plays an important role in post-colonial readings of Paul is Phil 3,20: “For our place of citizenship (polivteuma) is in heaven, and it is from there that we eagerly await our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”. The term politeuma can refer to the citizenry, the state of v being a citizen, or the place of citizenship, with the latter being most likely. Spicq notes that it was most commonly used to denote “an organization of citizens from the same place, with the same rights (isonomoi) in the midst of a foreign state” (42). That meaning certainly makes sense here, and it was a notion that members in the church of Philippi, an important Roman colony, would have understood. The fact that this political term is linked closely with kuvrio" and swthr has led v N.T. Wright to interpret the passage as a call to Christians to render fealty to their true Lord and Savior, rather than Caesar (43). This does, in fact, seem to be the clearest example of a remark in Paul that is undeniably set against an imperial background. Still, even here caution should be exercised since it is not clear to what extent the statement would have been construed as subversive, even by Roman officials (44). First, much of the force of Wright’s argument, in particular, is gained by his contention that the anti-imperial tone in Phil 3,20 is also to be assumed in the Christ hymn of Phil 2,6-11 (45). Certainly, if that hymn is meant to be a blatant challenge to the present, mundane authority of the emperor, it must be construed as subversive, but there is nothing in the immediate context of Phil 2,6-11 that necessitates such a reading. Second, one needs to be aware of the danger of importing modern conceptions of citizenship into our understanding of Paul’s metaphor. We generally think of citizenship as claim of loyalty by a state that tend to exclude other such claims. In the ancient world, citizenships were honors (with attendant privileges) to be amassed. Paul himself was, (40) Cf. HOLTZ, Thessalonicher, 215; PLEVNIK, Paul, 103-104. (41) Cf. D. WENHAM, Paul: Follower of Jesus or Founder of Christianity (Grand Rapids, MI 1995) 314-316. (42) C. SPICQ, TLNT IV, 130. (43) Cf. WRIGHT, “Paul’s Gospel”, 160-183. (44) Cf. P. OAKES, Philippians. From People to Letter (SNTSMS 110; Cambridge 2001) 147: “Paul does not seem to be wishing, as such for Rome’s overthrow. He is not writing anti-Roman polemic”. (45) Cf. WRIGHT, “Paul’s Gospel”, 72.